Richard Cabral

“There are many things in common with my life and my character in 'American Crime.' My upbringing has definitely helped me out in this role.”

“Audiences are more drawn in to what they can relate to, so it would be stupid not to have great Latino films for the Latino audience.”

“The lifestyle that I grew up in, it was passed on to me. I didn't know there was another world.”

“I spent my life behind bars, and what people don't know is getting out of prison is really nerve-racking - you're not used to society; you're not used to the world going by so fast - so to step on that lot was quite overwhelming.”

“In society, you are taught to belong. You have to belong to something.”

“I remember my first thing was 'CSI: Miami.' I played a Cuban gangster. And that was it. I was like, 'Wow, I don't have to clean toilets.' I could actually dress up and get paid equivalent to that. So that was my introduction into the Hollywood industry.”

“Art saved my life.”

“Through sharing my pain, I can possibly heal your pain. There is no other feeling like it. Money doesn't compare. This is the true meaning of art.”

“My family had been involved in gangs since the 1970s.”

“The true meaning of an artist/actor is opening my heart to the audience and, at the same time, opening their heart.”

“My father figures were all gang members.”

“I'm definitely not joking around on set.”

“I was one step away from getting my life taken away, whether it was life in prison or being dead on the streets. But I was saved.”

“It's about being a voice in the community. There's so many ways to be a voice, and that's what I'm figuring out.”

“Homeboy Industries is a healing center for broken children. I was a broken child, and they showed me how to put all those pieces back together. It's not about being a gangster. It's about being a man or a woman trying to recover and live better.”

“No one cares about you when you're in jail.”

“As an actor, I draw from myself.”

“Your only true obligation in a gang is to be committed and be there when your brothers need you.”

“It's nothing like changing or helping a person find themselves, but who would've thought that I would make it to a point in my life where somebody would be naming a damn burrito after me.”

“I didn't grow up with any brothers, but I have my cousins, and I had my good friends, so I know what it is to have that bro relationship.”